by Skybacher | May 24, 2010 | I-Like, News
These might not be ranked in the order that most people might make them but here are the players I’m looking forward to watching the most at this summer’s World Cup.
- Didier Drogba – He is a monster! Strong in the air. Sets others up, and has decent speed. Drogs will have at least 3 goals and continue his goal scoring form from the Barclay’s Premier League.
- Cristiano Ronaldo – He’s a little too pretty for my taste, but his foot skills are incredibly quick.
- Lionel Messi – He was voted the best player in the world for a reason but the only there may only be one thing to watch with the train wreck that is Argentina
- Tim Howard – I imagine the USA keeper will be seeing plenty of work.
- Michael Essien – He’s been out of action for a while it will be interesting to see what he can do for Ghana
- Fernando Torres – He may win the Golden Boot playing for high powered Spain
- Landon Donovan – There’s gotta be someone to cheer for from the U.S.
- Kaka – highly skilled and highly amazing! Hope the injuries don’t hinder him
- Arjen Robben – his strikes in the Champions League were killer, look for one in the World Cup!
- Giuseppe Rossi – not even a starter probably, but could have been playing for the U.S. Let’s see what we missed out on
- Frank Ribery – seems to be a mess at times but not when he is playing soccer.
Sorry Wayne Rooney I just don’t expect much but I would love to see England do well after the U.S. beats them (unlikely). Honorable Mention to Miroslav Klose I imagine he’ll find a way to score again. Who are your players you can’t wait to watch. Feel free to leave a comment.
by Skybacher | May 10, 2010 | I-Like, Sports Stars
It was a great day yesterday to watch Chelsea win the Barclay’s Premier League, but it was made even sweeter when my boy Drogba scored a hat-trick and ended the season with 29 goals giving him the Golden Boot! I had to make something really quick to commemorate the event so here it is!! Congratulations to Chelsea, and Drogba! Now it’s on to the World Cup!!
by Skybacher | Apr 30, 2010 | I-Like
More games in a sport does not mean more fun or more entertaining. It’s just means more money! But to me the most exciting sports are the ones with less games. Sure I love a great 7 game series as much as anyone but the seasons are too long and they play way too many games.
The NBA and NHL each have an 82 game season. This isn’t terrible but when both of these leagues have a post season that is almost as long as the regular season. It begins to drag on!
Baseball has an outrageous 162 game season. These games mean absolutely nothing! I only need 10 games to know that my beloved Pirates will once again not have a winning season.
I will argue that two of the most exciting sports Leagues are the English Premier League and the NFL.
The English Premier League plays 38 games. That still is maybe a few too many games but for the most part that provides an atmosphere where every game means something. Tomorrow is the second to last week of the season, and the title is still up for grabs, as is fourth place which determines who will be in next years Champions league. For the most part there is one game a week for your favorite team and you can talk about, debate, argue, and analyze all week how the match-up will turn out.
This too is what makes the NFL great. Every game matters! There’s only 16 games. And every week there’s a game to analyze and debate about. It makes it great, and far more entertaining each game. I don’t talk about how the Pirates are gonna do against the Brewers, because they’ll play them 9 times or something!
If I was the NBA or NHL I would cut the schedule down to 64 games. One home/away game against each team in the league. Think about only 2 match ups a year between Kobe and Lebron, or Ovi and Crosby. They would be something we would look forward too. I won’t even begin to try to figure out how to make baseball more entertaining. It just isn’t an option here in Pittsburgh.
by Skybacher | Apr 28, 2010 | I-Like
I am so excited about the upcoming World Cup. I just think it’s such a great tournament because every single game matters. I’ve been putting in lots of hours on Fifa 10 and now Fifa World Cup. I’ve been drawing caricatures of the top 50 players from a recent ESPN article. I’m keeping tabs of the Premier Leagues and Champions League on Fox Soccer Channel. Here are some early thoughts about the 2010 World Cup.
- Favorite African Team: Ivory Coast
- Favorite Player: Didier Drogba
- You could wear the German away jersey to a formal dinner. It’s like a tuxedo it’s so classy looking.
- Of the three big companies Nike, Adidas, and Puma, I’m liking Puma’s designs the most followed closely by Adidas. Not a fan of too many of the Nike uniforms
- I think the Netherlands are my early pick to win the entire tournament. Robben, Kuyt, Van Persie, Snejder.
- Will a bunch of guys wearing purple shoes help or hurt the stereotype that soccer is for wimps? The Nike Mercurial Vapor are purple and orange.
- Italy will not repeat, and USA will not win it either! I know I’m really going out on a limb there!!!
- Messi will score at least one amazing goal slashing through a team’s entire defense…I’m thinking Korea!
- The real group of death is Group A with France, Uruguay, Mexico, and the home nation South Africa
- I won’t be cheering for Spain but they have the best set of Home/Away jerseys.
- Maradona will do something stupid!
by Skybacher | Apr 28, 2010 | I-Like
I just got the new EA Sports World Cup game for the Wii today! I was so excited at the chance to play with the Ivory Coast and get the feel of the World Cup.
If you’ve played Fifa 10 for Wii not much has changed but there are a few changes and improvements. Here are some thoughts on the game itself.
- First it is brighter and more colorful
- It’s all about the goals! Flashing streaks of color on powerful shots, booming sound effects, user controlled celebrations.
- Spain is the top rated team at 83. Brazil, France, and England are all 82’s. Italy is an 81 and finally USA comes in at 72.
- The user controlled celebrations are really fun but I imagine they will grow old! Although, I know I’ll see my 8 year old son copying those same celebrations each week during his own soccer games
- It’s fast paced and exciting. A few high school guys watched me playing the game and their first words after watching me hit a powerful strike were, ‘Whoa this looks way more exciting than Fifa for Xbox 360.”
- The vuvuzela horns are a fun addition and bring flavor to the South African feel, but they are highly annoying! The first thing my son noticed when playing the game was the buzzing horns. He asked if we could turn them off. Thankfully you can!
- The “strike it” system remains for set pieces. It’s definitely more challenging with the ball glowing blue instead of green. It has even been added some of the punts.
- I haven’t put in enough time with several of the new modes but Global Domination would definitely be fun with 4 players. The Dream Team will be a fun challenge, and the Trophy reward system is fun to see after each game. I got a trophy for scoring on a bicycle kick. I wish they had that when I was in high school!
This game is definitely fun and I’ll be playing it right up until the 2010 World Cup and beyond. Fifa 10 has been my favorite game since it came out and Super Mario Bros. Wii is the only thing that has made me take a break from it. Fifa World Cup 2010 is not that different from Fifa 10, but I didn’t expect it to be. It adds all the international flavor and allows you to play for the countries you’re cheering for in the upcoming World Cup. That is enough for me. So let father- son international soccer battles begin!
by Skybacher | Dec 21, 2009 | Cartoon Vectors, I-Like, Sports Stars
Thanks Santa for at least one more Steeler’s victory. I thought I’d put up a Hines Ward cartoon to celebrate the victory. Enjoy and just maybe we’ll sneak into the playoffs.
